Automatic radio tuner



Nova 22, 1949 a ANDERSSON AUTOM. TIC RADIO TUNER 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 2'7", 194? Nov. 22, 1949 a. ANDERSSQN 2,438,575

AUTOMATIC RADIO TUNER Filed Aug. 27, 1947 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTUR Nov. 22, 1949 1. ANDERSSON 2,488,575

AUTOMATIC RADIO TUNER Filed Aug. 2'7, 1947 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Nov. 22, 1949 1. ANDERSSON 2,438,575

AUTOMATIC RADIO TUNER Filed Aug. 27, 1947 5 Sheets- Sheet 4 Nov. 22, 1949 l. ANDERSSON 2,433,575

' AUTOMATIC RADIO TUNER Filed Aug. 27, 1947 Y s Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented Novo 22, 1949 PATENT OFFICE AUTOMATIC RADIO 'ZIIINER:

Ivan Andersson, St.

Petersburg, Fla- Application August 27, 194 7 Serial No. 770,914

6 Claims.

The present invention relates;- to? meansior automatically:operating a number of electric coils at a prearranged time; The. object :being to ar ra'nge these coils to automatically-operate a numberof. switches or push buttons 01131113111103.1157 5 oeiving. set ;so. that a number of. broadcasting stations may be. automatically tuned in. at a prearrangedtime; .Itimay'also be. used for automatically operatingiswitches forsignals or starting machinery at aprearrangedztime.

TOi-accOIIlPliShllt'his Lprovide a body with a center hole zandianumber .of. radial .slots arranged: around the: centen'hole. Toothedl racks. are rest;- ing: in: these slots .and...capableof being moved out and :in: fromand. to the. centerxand: held in. any desired position. Each of' these: racks is" provided with a. projection adapted to actuate; one." of anumber" of electric contact: members; mounted on a. disk :carried. by thehour hand shaft which is rotated by apclock' works The; position of the aforesaid s1ots=are.- arranged. to correspond Withllthfi': hours or' fraction of. hours of the clock which correspondsw'rththe time. Means are'proVidedLto move and set any of these: racks at any time-:to; anydesired position where the projection on the. rackwill strike an electric. contact. member;v .whichc rr-uzolves. .past'said projection. air the time corresponding togthe position I of ltlieslot; This.=.will cause-the electric contact member'to' close: an. electricv circuiti'which will. energize. an electriczo'oil arranged tozoperatea. push button switch or otherwiseto .tuneina oer.- tainmadioi station. Means are. provided. to autoe matically cause. the racks. to move back into their: originalv or inoperative position- The accompanying drawingssillustrate the in ve-ntionwhere:

Fig. 1 iszafront View, and:

Fig-1 2 a-rear view of the arrangement.

Fig; 3 and Fig. 4. are fractional views of:rack,. pawl, pawl. support and pawl operating cam.

Fig. 5 is a side view, partly in section. ofthe device.

Fig. 6 and Fig. 7 are detail views of the rack and. pawl operating .means.

Fig. 8.is a: top viewof two racks, the pawls and the-spring for. holding the pawl inengagemerit withthe-rack.

Fig. 9 a plan. of the-devicegpartly in section.

Fi .10 is-a rear view. of. the rotating diskwith. contact members.

Fig; 11 is a-section online I '77- l .oLFig-z 1.0 andv :Fig.; 12 is aidiagrammatic. viewer. the electric". cormections between 'the'scontact rings and-:tlie coils;

2. The body I, Fig; 5;,consists of two slottedplates. Luand- ."'l ;.andi..aspacer .4 which supports rods. 5 andhelicalsprings 6;. Spacers l are held at the periphery of the body between the slotted plates.v The: toothed. racks 3v which are provided withv projections lllfiare held: in position between the slotted..p1a'tes 2.1 and .3 byrmeans of slots 88 in.

pass through. The pawls; I are pivoted. on. brackets Hwhich are :mounted. on plate 3 and. are normally keptintengagement with the racksv bysprings I2, Figs. 2, '7 and 8. but automatically disengagedaby cam H9, which is mountedon the periphery of the rotating disk l3. The rotating contact disk l3, Figs. 5, l0 and 11, carries the contactxsprings [4 which normally are out oflenga'gementiwith...the contact rings [6, and contact spring l5,.shown in broken lines in Fig. 11, which is always .incontact with ring N, Fig. 12. ThepinssSfl are. carried by the springs i8, which when bent inwards transmit the motion to springs .il lbyzplugs 9| of non-conductive materiaLcarried byisprings l8. The contact rings. I 6 and H are mounted on a disk I9 of nonconducting material which is fixed and supported by the clock: 25. the fixed shaftfizl in the rear which is carried by the. bracket 22.. The slotted body I is supported' by the :angle23 and braced by rods 24.

The rotatable arm 25. is mounted on the fixed shaft 2| and'ca'rries bell crank 26 and lever 21. The pawl 28'is pivoted'on one arm 29 of the bell crank and isprovided with pin and spring 31, Fig. 6, which'forces the pawl in engagement withthe rack 8 and" moves it inwards one tooth bythesolenoid' 35 when energized, through links andlevers tlj' 38, 3'9 and 4|]. On neutralizing thesolenoid" the pawl 28sw-ings outwards by the action of the'helicalspring 36, which moves the armature I] out and operates aforesaid 'links and levers causing one end of the pawl to strike the cross rod: 32 which moves the pawl 28 out ofengagement with the rack, thereby freeing tlie-rotatable-arm 25 and allowing it to be rotated.

freely on the shaft 21. The lever 21 is also pivotedto'thearm'25-the one end of which carries a -pin 34 (Fig. 7-) which will on swinging forward'strike the-pawl l0 and release'the' rack. This movementismaused by the solenoid 42 be ing: energized and: attracting: the armature 43 whicn operates the levezs z-l throughlinks and:

The clock 20 is supported by" levers 44, 45, 46 and 41. On neutralizing the solenoid 42 the spring 48 will cause the pin 34 through aforesaid links and levers to be retracted to its normal position. On the arm 25 a gear 49 is fastened concentric with the shaft 2I, the center line of which coincides with the center of the hole in the body I. This gear is in engagement with gean 50 which engages pinion 5I mounted on spindle 52, which spindle also car ries a knob 58 for rotating the spindle and gears for positioning the arm 25 when a rack is to be set. To be able to see when the arm is in the desired position a hand 53 is mounted in front of the dial 55, Figs. 1 and 9, on a spindle 54, Fig. 5, which runs through a central hole in the shaft 2I and hour shaft 56 and minute shaft 5'! of the clock. This spindle 54 is geared by miter gears 58 and 59 to a shaft 60 which again is geared by miter gears GI and 52 to shaft 63 on which is mounted gear 59 which rotates with the same speed as arm 25, Fig. 2.

To operate the solenoid a modified telephone dial is used which consists of a circular plate 64 with a number of finger holes 65, as many as there are relays provided for, plus one for canceling the setting of a rack. In the present example there is arranged for 5 relays which are identified by different colors. The colors are shown on a dial behind the finger holes. A part of the front of the housing 66 is shown in broken lines, Fig. 1, with the opening 61 in front of the holes 65. This opening 61 limits the movement of the finger and the dial plate and allows the correct number of electric impulses corresponding to the number of holes on return of the dial plate to normal position. The arrangement of the telephone dial is shown more or less diagrammatic in the rear View Fig. 2.

Behind the dial plate 64 which is carried by shaft I4 is mounted a plate 58 with colored areas behind the finger holes which moves with the dial 64. Behind is rigidly mounted a circular plate 69 with a recess I and a rigid pin II which protrudes through a slot 12 in a plate I3 loosely mounted on shaft 14. This plate carries a pawl I which engages the teeth of a ratchet 16 which is loosely mounted on the shaft I4. Another pawl 11 pivoted to the frame I8 prevents the ratchet to turn on dialing, the pawl 75 just slipping over the teeth while the helical spring 79 is tightened, one end which is attached to the dial shaft l4 and the other end to the frame. A gear 80 is mounted on the ratchet and turns with it and is engaging a smaller gear BI mounted on a spindle 82 which carries a cam I26 on which rides a contact spring 83 which makes and breaks an electric circuit when it rotates. As the ratch et only rotates in one direction the cam will only rotate in one direction, that is on the return movement which is to the same amount it was first rotated. This will cause electric impulses to be sent through one solenoid which is the one which operates the rack by the pawl 28.

However, to move the rack to the correct setting it must first be returned to its normal or zero position and this is accomplished by providing the disk I3 with a recess 84. When turning the dial plate 64, Fig. 2, with plate 69 which carries a pin. II moving in a slot 12 of the loosely mounted plate I3 this last named plate is retarded until pin II has reached the other end of the slot I2 when it moves along with disk 69 and with the recesses and 84 in alignment, the lever 85 can now snap into the recesses and cause contact to be made between the two contact springs 86 and 81. The electric current is closed and an electric impulse sent through the solenoid which operates the lever 21 releasing the rack and allowing it to return to its zero position.

On return of the dial the loosely mounted disk is retarded again and the disk 69 moves ahead so the recesses become out of alignment and there is no movement of lever 35, no contact between the two springs 86 and B1, and so no electric impulse is sent through the solenoid for operating lever 21 and rack pawl It. On rotating the dial the electric current impulses run from supply wires 92 and 93 through make and break contact 86 and 81 through wire 95 contact 98 contact ring 91 solenoid 42 contact ring 98, contact 99 and wire IIlO. On return movement of the dial the electric current impulses run from supply wires 92 and llll through make and break contact 83 and 94 through wire I92, contact I03, contact ring I64, through solenoid 35, contact ring 98, contact 99 and wire IilIl.

On actuating a pin 96 on contact with a projection I05 of a rack 8, a contact spring I4 is raised and makes contact with one of the concentric contact rings It and an electric circuit is closed, Fig. 11. The current runs through the supply wire N95 to contact ring I'I through the contact spring I5, and the raised contact spring I4 to a contact ring I8, through a wire IDS, a coil It"! back to the electric supply by the wire I08, Figs. 10, 11 and 12. As an example the coils IU'I are shown in a position with their armatures in front of the push buttons H33 of a radio I139.

The shaft 2| is provided with holes II!) for the passage of the wires I536. The racks 8 have projections HI sticking out through the slots in the dial 55, Fig. 1, to indicate what stations have been dialed. The hour shaft 53 carries gear wheel II? which gears to the clock and minute shaft 51 carries pinion H2 also geared to the clock. For the setting of the clock, spindle H4 is passed through a hole in shaft 21' and carries a pinion H3 at one end for engaging pinion H2 and a knurled button H5 at the rear end. A helical spring H6 keeps the pinion II3 out of engagement normally, Fig. 5.

The body I on its front side has a dial 55 with slots I2I, Fig. l, coinciding with the slots I20, Fig. 2, in the body, through which projections I I I on the racks 8 protrude and indicate the positions of the racks. By arranging a number of concentric annular bands I25 on the dial in different colors which indicate different broadcasting stations, it is possible to observe the position and the broadcasting station for which the rack has been set. The dial is graduated so that the slots coincide with the graduations which are generally for hours and quarter hours on a twelve hour dial. The hour shaft 56 and the minute shaft 51 carry the usual hands I22 and I23 in front of the dial I24, which has the regular hour and minute divisions.

I claim:

1. A fixed body having a center hole and radial slots around this center hole and toothed racks arranged to slide in said slots, springs to push said racks outward from the center, stops to limit the movement of the racks, pawls arranged to engage the teeth of said racks and hold them in required positions, a fixed shaft, an arm mounted on the fixed shaft and capable of being rotated on said shaft, means for moving said racks in toward the center, means for releasing said racks and allow them to move outward to the stops, said two means arranged on aforesaid rotatable arm mounted on the fixed shaft, allowing said means to be swung around with said arm to any position in front of a rack to be operated by said means, and projections on the racks for actuating electrical contact members.

2. A fixed body having a center hole and radial slots around this center hole, toothed racks arranged to slide in said slots, springs to push said racks outward from the center, stops to limit the movement of the racks, pawls arranged to engage the teeth of said racks and hold them in required position, a fixed shaft, an arm mounted on the fixed shaft and cap-able of being rotated on said shaft, a pawl pivoted to a bell crank mounted on the rotatable arm and adapted to be brought into engagement with the teeth of a rack for the purpose of moving the rack towards the center, a solenoid with an armature mounted on the aforesaid arm, levers and links connecting the above said bell crank to the armature of the solenoid, means for energizing the solenoid, by electrical impulses, spring for returning the armature and parts connected to their original position, and projections on the racks for actuating electrical contact members.

3. A fixed body having a center hole and radial slots around this center hole, toothed racks arranged to slide in said slots, springs to push said racks outward from the center, stops to limit the movement of the racks, pawls arranged to engage the teeth of said racks and hold them in required positions a fixed shaft, an arm mounted on the fixed shaft and capable of being rotated on said shaft, a lever pivoted on said arm and carrying a pin adapted to be brought into engagement with one of said pawls and move it to release the rack, a solenoid with an armature mounted on the aforesaid rotatable arm, levers and links connecting aforesaid lever to the armature of the solenoid, means for energizing the solenoid by electrical impulses, spring for returning the armature and parts connected to their original position, and projections on the racks for actuating electrical contact members.

4. A fixed body having a center hole and radial slots around this center hole, toothed racks arranged to slide in said slots, springs to push said racks outward from the center, stops to limit the movement of the racks, pawls arranged to engage the teeth of said racks and hold them in required positions, a fixed shaft, an arm mounted on the fixed shaft and capable of being rotated on said shaft, means for moving said racks in toward the center, means for releasing said racks and allow them to move outward to the stops, said means carried on the arm mounted on the fixed shaft, a gear rigidly mounted on said arm and concentric with the shaft, gears mounted outside and clear of the rotating arm but in mesh with the first said gear, and a knob for turning the gears and rotating the arm on the fixed shaft, a spring and a roller pressing between the teeth of the fixed gear mounted on the arm to insure a correct position of the arm when a rack is to be operated.

5. A fixed body having a center hole and radial slots around this center hole, toothed racks arranged to slide in said slots, springs to push said racks outward from the center, stops to limit the movement of the racks, pawls arranged to engage the teeth of said racks and hold them in required positions, a fixed bracket, a fixed shaft rigidly supported by said bracket, a rotatable arm mounted on said shaft, means for moving said racks in toward the center, means for releasing said racks and allow them to move outward to the stops, said two means arranged on aforesaid rotatable arm mounted on the fixed shaft, allowing said means to be swung around with said arm to any position in line with a rack to be operated by said means a clock rigidly supported on said shaft, a plate of non-conducting material and with a center hole supported by the clock, hour and minute shafts driven by the clock protruding through the center holes in the first named body and last named plate, concentric metal rings mounted on the last named plate of non-conducting material, a member rigidly mounted on the hour shaft between the plate and the racks, and rotating with it, electric contact members mounted on the last named member which is mounted on the hour shaft said contact members adapted to be actuated by any projection on the racks and pressed against one of said concentric metal rings, and a cam mounted on said member for releasing the rack by actuating the pawl that holds the rack in position.

6. A fixed body having a center hole and radial slots around this center hole, toothed racks arranged to slide in said slots, springs to push said racks outward from the center, stops to limit the movement of the racks, pawls arranged to engage the teeth of said racks and hold the racks in the required positions, a rigid bracket, a fixed shaft supported by said bracket, an arm mounted to rotate on said shaft means for moving aforesaid racks in toward the center, means for releasing said racks and allow them to move outward to the stops, said two means arranged on aforesaid rotatable arm and allowing said means to be swung around with the arm to any position in line with a rack to be operated by said means, a fixed gear mounted on the arm, concentric with the shaft, a central hole through said shaft, a spindle located in said hole and extendin from the back to the front of the body, a gear mounted on the rear end of the spindle and geared to the fixed gear on the arm, an indicating hand mounted on the other end of the spindle rotating in unison with the arm in front of the body.

IVAN ANDERSSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,096,072 Spagnola Oct. 19, 1937 2,248,144 Westby July 8, 1941 2,275,650 Porter et a1 Mar. 10, 1942 

